Dan in the DC Universe
by Anime PJ
Summary: Challenge Fic, idea belongs to DarkLord98. Dan dies and finds himself in The Batman. Welcome to the madhouse! First of two stories. (Possibly more).
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first attempt at writing a Challenge Fic. I found this challenge on the profile page of DarkLord98 so credit for the idea goes to him.**

**The challenge is to write a fanfiction about a teenager getting sent into the DC Universe of The Batman 2004. From there he'll go on into either Teen Titans or Young Justice, I haven't decided which yet but I'm leaning more towards Teen Titans.**

**I popped in a cameo from one of my other fics, I hope you enjoy it.**

**That being said, let's begin!**

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><p><span>Just Minding My Own Business and... OH MY GOD, IT'S BATMAN!<span>

I never thought I'd really done anything in my life that warranted a reward afterwards. I was just your average 14 year old kid who wasn't extraordinary in the slightest. I liked anime, comic books, movies and of course DC cartoons. Marvel can try all they like to go into the TV industry but other than Agents Of SHIELD I don't see that happening. DC are the masters of cartoon entertainment.

My name is Daniel Blake and I died. Like, literally died. Single most embarrassing death ever too. I was tripped down the stairs by a goddamn cat!

I was sat in what looked like an office. It wasn't a normal office though, everything was white. Absolutely everything. I was struggling to see anything in the room other than the walls. The desk was white, the chair I sat on was white and the suit the guy in front of me was wearing was, you guessed it, white. Even his bloody hair was white. What is it with the afterlife and white!?

"Hello there." He said, cheerfully. "My name's Shintaro and I'm here to guide you into your afterlife."

"What's with all the white?" I asked him. "Why is your hair white? You can't be older than, what? Maybe, 18?"

"I'm 16, just had to grow up faster than others. And my hair isn't normally this color." He told me. "It's all part of the uniform. Normally it would be black. Heck, I don't even really work here. I'm filling in for a friend before they send me back to the land of the living."

"If you don't work here, then what do you normally do?"

"I run around inside a TV fighting monsters with my friends."

"Are you insane?"

"Are you dead?"

"Good point. So how does this work exactly. Do we discuss whether or not I go to heaven or hell?"

"Well, not exactly." He said with a bit of a nervous smile. "That all depends on where you choose to go. It could turn into your heaven or your hell. It really just depends on the circumstances."

"Huh?" I was so confused.

"Okay, this is how it works." He explained. "After death only really evil people are sent straight to hell. We're talking murderers, rapists, things like that. You are none of those things so what you're going to do is pick a world."

"Pick a world?"

"Yep. Any world that's fictional in yours is open to you now. That's how the system works. As long as you're not an evil scumbag you get shifted to a different world every time you die in one. You even get to choose special abilities, assuming they're not too overpowered."

I thought about it for a second. "Any world?"

"Yep." He smiled.

"How does the DC Universe sound to you?"

"Well, there's a lot of different versions. Anywhere specific?"

"I want to start in The Batman. Y'know, the 2004 Batman show? And I want it to lead into either Teen Titans or Young Justice."

"Any particular preference?"

"Surprise me."

"Okay." He wrote down a few things on a form of some sort. "Any particular powers you want? It'll certainly help where you're going."

"I want the Air Bending Abilities from Avatar: The Last Airbender."

"Oooh. Good choice." He smiled as he handed me the forms. "Sign down there at the bottom and we'll get this dimension jump underway."

I did as he said and signed my name at the bottom. I returned the forms to him.

"Thank you for using this afterlife service." Shintaro said with his ever-present smile. "I hope to see you again in the future. But not to soon, eh? Oh, and don't change major events. You can change small things but changing major events could completely rip apart the universe around you!" He said in a slight panic. A light began to form around me and a bright flash appeared before my eyes as I suddenly found myself in a city.

Gotham City.

~Dan in the DC Universe~

As luck would have it I appeared not far from Arkham Asylum. That's a good thing because, assuming this was around the time of the first episode, that meant Joker would be taking over soon enough and I could get into the thick of it.

So here I was making my way in after visiting hours. I had yet to try my new abilities and I thought about using them to get higher up in the building. I decided against it since I'd probably mess up and make more noise than necessary. It wasn't that hard. Being a cartoon, all orderlies and guards that were dotted about were about as smart as the bricks this place was built out of. I doubt the Joker would've gotten in if they'd been doing their jobs right.

The lightning outside really complimented the creepiness of this place. Jesus, it gave me the shudders. The weird thing is that I'm pretty sure it wasn't even raining. Cartoon weather logic reigns supreme! Oh nope, there it is. Rain started after the lightning... okay.

I heard a bang, then another bang and another. I looked into the corridor from the storage closet I'd hidden myself in and saw that all the cell doors were opening and all the prisoners were being released. _This is it. _I thought. _Not long now. I _really _hope Zsasz doesn't show up. _

Joker's deranged laughter echoing through the building snapped me into the reality of the situation. I was in Arkham Asylum, a bunch of potentially dangerous lunatics had been released and the freaking JOKER was in here with me. I'd gotten myself into some serious shit here.

It didn't feel like much time had past after that until the exploding Jack-in-the-Box had the bridge gone. Only a little more time now, an hour at most.

I exited the closet and began to look around. After only a little time I came across a man in an orderly uniform standing perfectly upright and making no movements whatsoever. I knew what had happened and the sound of footsteps not far behind me drew my attention. I gasped at the sight.

It was him. IT WAS FREAKING BATMAN! How many fanboys would kill for this opportunity!? Black mask and cape. Grey costume, yellow utility belt. Even the white eyes. That's even creepier in real life.

"You're not a patient." He said in his firm voice. "And you're too young to work here. So, why are you here?"

I panicked slightly and made something up on the spot. With a fake sigh I said. "I was scrounging through the garbage." It was made more believable by the fact that my clothes had been ruined on the way over here. I certainly looked homeless enough. "Personally, I think we should be more worried about him." I gestured to the orderly.

Batman approached the orderly, me following close behind and turned him around. On his face was a freakishly wide smile that seemed to be permanently on there.

"What the hell?" I asked no one, trying to play ignorant.

A massive amount of deranged laughter came from all around us. "Takes after his pa, wouldn't you say?" Came a humor-filled voice from behind us. We turned around and saw the Joker sat on a support beam. He wore a straight jacket-like purple and green outfit with strange symbols on the arms. His green hair was wild and uncut and his eyes were red as blood. In other words: he scared the hell out of me.

"What did you do to him?" Batman demanded.

"Just some laughing gas, Drac." Joker replied, his grin never fading.

"Really, 'cos I don't see him laughing." I commented.

"What do you mean?" Joker asked me. "He has such a big SMILE on his face. How is that not laughing?" He dropped down and pointed at Batman with his long sleeve. "What 'rational' being dresses like you!? Speaking of threads, think this is a good look for me?" He did a little dance by swinging his arms in front of him and swaying.

"Who are you?" Batman asked, grabbing the front of Joker's shirt.

"Joker." He replied with his trademark smile still in place.

"Not what!" Batman said in annoyance. "Who?" He began to wipe Joker's face with his hand, trying to find any indication of makeup.

"Smear free." Joker commented. "It's perma-clown!"

"That's just messed up." I said.

"Hey, don't diss the party face kid!" He yelled at me. He looked at Batman, scanning him for any trace of laughter. "Ooh, tough crowd. Look!" He jumped away from Batman. "Nothing up my sleeves!" He raised his right arm, letting the sleeve fall down and revealing a... I don't know. Some sort of hammer thing? Whatever. "Nothing that won't put a _smile _on your face! Say cheese!" He yelled the last part as he jumped towards Batman while swinging the hammer thing.

Batman acted quickly and sent one quick batarang at the hammer which went flying off somewhere else. "I'm out of gas." Joker moped in disappointment.

Batman jumped onto the Joker's long sleeves. "And _I'm _out of patience!" He growled before punching Joker clean in the face, leading his sleeves to tear off as he staggered away.

"You really know how to spoil a coming-out party." Joker scolded him. "How do you expect me to spread mirth and whimsy without a proper hideout!?"

"This place as a hideout?" I asked in confusion. "Dude, I feel low just taking food from their bins. The building won't last for long."

"Not helping." Batman whispered to me. Oh yes, this is the version of Batman that isn't a moody git. "Listen, Joker. You're sick, you need help."

"Well, maybe I am a little... 'off'." The Joker rubbed his chin in thought. He jumped and landed a brutal double-kick to Batman, sending him sprawling to the ground. "But what are you gonna do? Lock me in the loony bin? I'm already here! My old hideout's a shambles. And these digs just scream me!"

What happened next was an embarrassing show of Batman throwing punches and Joker avoiding them. I got so bored that I decided to try out my new abilities and end the fight slightly early. I put my hands together and sent a gust of wind at the Joker, knocking him off balance and onto the ground. Both he and Batman looked at me in curiosity for a moment before Batman attempted to haul Joker up. Joker managed to jump away again before he could though.

"Fine!" Joker spat. "Take back the Asylum! But mark my words, this town's got happy days ahead!" Playing cards were flung at both me and Batman. He expertly dodged them. I, on the other hand, threw myself to the floor and prayed he didn't throw any at me while I was down.

Joker was making a run for it when I got back up. I ran after Batman as he turned a corner only to find a giant Jack-in-the-Box that was slowly ticking away. Batman tried to hold the lever and stop it from going off but the music continued and Batman jumped towards me in an attempt to shield me. The the Jack-in-the-Box went off... and confetti was sprayed everywhere.

"Smile Gotham!" The Joker's recorded voice yelled from within the box.

Batman sighed at the Joker's escape and turned to me. "Come on." He said. "I want to know what you did but we can't wait around here."

I followed him to a window where he told me to grab onto him. I did and after a close call with Ethan Bennet, Bruce Wayne's lifelong friend, the grappling hook was taking us to the Batmobile. Along with the orderly who Batman held in one of his hands (somehow).

~Dan in the DC Universe~

"This is _cool._" I commented on the Bat Cave.

"A child, sir?" Our favorite butler Alfred Pennyworth asked his boss questioningly.

"He did something interesting." Batman said. "What was that?" He asked me.

"I have control over the air." I told him. "Limited though, I don't get that much practice in."

"How?" He asked.

"As far as I know, I was born with it." I said. "I don't use it much but when I do I'm usually helping someone."

"What's your name?"

"Daniel Blake. You can call me Dan."

"A pleasure, Master Dan." Alfred greeted me.

"You're the most polite person I've met in years. A pleasure to meet you too, mister..." Playing dumb was getting old very quickly.

"Pennyworth. Alfred Pennyworth."

"Is there anyone else who knows what you can do?" Batman asked.

"Probably not. I don't even remember my parents, they died years ago." This story was less... fictional than it seemed. I had actual memories of this. Huh, fake memories to help with backstory and make it sound genuine. Why did Shintaro not tell me about this?

A few moments of silence later. "Alfred, set him up a room in one of the Cave's holding cells." Batman told the butler.

"Huh?" I asked in confusion. I hadn't expected that.

"Your abilities may be useful." He told me. "We'll get you set up in here so that you can help us."

Oh, now I remember. It was on the forms Shintaro handed me. One of the few bits I actually read. 'The universe you inhabit may change personalities of its inhabitants temporarily to compensate for your presence'. That's handy.

I won't lie, I didn't take part in the rest of the first adventure. I was exhausted. But don't worry, I was part of pretty much all the others to come and I don't regret my decision to come here even for a moment. Could have done without all those encounters with the Joker though. That was messed up.

**Done with the first chapter. Don't worry, it'll get more action packed from here. I just felt that Dan would be tired after going to another world and using his powers for the first time. This won't happen again.**

**Next Chapter: Holy Hell, Bane ALREADY!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Alright, all I really have to say here is that I'm really glad I'm not messing this up so far. I'd also like to apologise for how long it took me to get the second chapter out, I had a few decisions to make regarding where to go with this story and I'm fairly confident with what I'm doing now. As for calling the gas device a 'hammer thing' last chapter, sorry about that. Just think of that as 14-year old ignorance until I get around to editing.**

**Okay, I'm done. Oh, and I'm gonna be writing in third person from now on. I've tested it out a couple of times and I find that I'm a lot better at it.**

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><p><span>Holy Hell, Bane ALREADY!<span>

Deep underground in an abandoned area of the subway, three gang lords were meeting in secret. The purpose of this meeting: what to do about Batman.

"Why are we meeting here?" one of them asked. "Everyone knows he's attracted to shadows."

"Relax," another said. "The Batman thinks we split Gotham _months _ago."

"He dismantled my operation brick by brick," the first said.

"Took down all of my men single-handedly, I can't even sleep nights," the second told him.

"Batman," the third, slightly older one, finally spoke up. "I know. He ruined me too. But you can kiss those worries goodbye, I found a solution to our, er... problem. A mercenary. Volunteered for some enhancements in a secret lab deep in the Amazon. Wild, eh?"

"Yeah, we got the money," the first agreed after some consideration, lifting up a briefcase.

"We're in," the second joined him.

"Gentlemen," the third smiled. "Meet Bane."

Out of the shadows walked a male figure in a long brown overcoat. He wore a lot of what looked like black rubber over every inch of his body. Two thin lines going all around his mask were the only indication of any gaps in the costume.

"Er, are you sure this guy can take down the Batman?" the first asked, doubtfully.

"Just because he wears a mask doesn't make him some kind of Superman," the second agreed.

"There is much more to me than meets the eye," Bane finally spoke up in a slight Mexican accent. He lifted his hand, showing them a circle that had some yellow liquid in it with some strange pipes leading into his coat.

~Dan in the DC Universe~

Dan was sitting in his 'room' in the Batcave listening to the sounds of the bats flying and the machinery moving. He would've been able to hear them a hell of a lot better if it weren't for the music Batman was blasting at the time. It made Dan tense, Batman was testing out the Bat Bot and that meant that the fight with Bane wasn't far away. Dan had had a little experience in the field since he got there, but it wasn't much. Batman's temporary change in personality really was temporary. Despite letting Dan stay there he still had reservations about letting a child work with him.

Dan himself had gotten used to his powers at least. He could create gusts of air and small tornadoes to knock people over, that was about it for the time being. He knew he'd have to get better at some point in the near future if he was going to be of any use.

He was taking the situation seriously in spite of the excitement going through his body all the time. He was, after all, working with BATMAN! And as much as the Caped Crusader didn't really speak to him he couldn't help but think of this as the highlight of his existence. And as far as Dan was concerned he still had things to look forward to. Case in point: Batgirl and Robin. He was looking forward to having people closer to his own age to work with since they'd probably be more friendly towards him, and not to mention actually _willing _to form friendships.

Dan heard some muffled yelling, then some even louder muffled yelling, then the unfinished Bat Bot moving around quickly, and finally the sound of metal impacting off of someone.

"Alfred!" Bruce Wayne, currently out of costume, exclaimed as he ran to help his fallen butler/friend.

"Your nachos, sir," Alfred said after getting up. He pulled one of the cheese-covered things off of his face, trying to ignore his now cheese-covered suit.

"That sounded like it hurt," Dan commented, he couldn't see them, Bruce made sure of that. "Is he alright?"

"It's merely a flesh-wound, sirs," Alfred said, clutching his slightly wounded arm. "I do believe my military medical training has equipped me to deal with such injuries." He looked at the large metal contraption that Bruce had been working on when he came in. "And that would be for?"

"Dunno yet," Bruce admitted casually. "But it sure is cool."

"One of these days you're gonna form a consistent personality," Dan said. "And I'm going to be there smiling when you do."

"If only those scientists at Wayne Enterprises knew their cutting-edge tech was being used to assist The Batman." Bruce completely ignored the comment.

"If only we could build a cleaning robot to assist The Batman's Butler," Alfred sighed, sarcasm dripping from his voice. True to most versions of Alfred he didn't really approve of the operation. Yet he still felt obligated to go through with it.

All Bruce could do was smile at his friend's humour. Hell, he even appreciated Dan's comments from time to time, not that he'd ever admit it.

~Dan in the DC Universe~

An armoured car carrying a large amount of money made its way through Gotham on this surprisingly quiet night. The driver was bored and the guard was asleep in the back, coins clashing against each other in the many bags that surrounded him.

The driver saw something ahead and screeched to a stop. In front of the truck was a black and yellow road block, which was unusual because this route wasn't going under any work. At least as far as he knew.

"Construction?" the newly awakened guard asked from the back. "This time of night?"

BANG!

Something that could have only been an explosion smashed the armoured car towards the barricade, flipping it onto its side and smashing all of its windows plus the headlights.

The dust from the landing cleared and the guard gasped when he saw what looked like a large man in a black and grey rubber suit jump into a hole that was now in the back of the car. The driver awoke to the sounds of a savage beating that the guard was currently undergoing. Smashing and bashing into the metal walls of the truck. In a blind panic the driver reached for the radio he had in the front of the truck, only for the large man to rip through the door that leads to the back of the truck and grab the driver.

~Dan in the DC Universe~

Bruce was working on the Bat Bot again. Dan was boredly sat in his room, out of sight but now out of hearing distance. He wanted to start a conversation but didn't see much point, this version of Batman may have been a lot friendlier than most others, but that didn't change the fact that it was Batman. It didn't matter which version you looked at, none of them were good at casual conversation.

It wasn't like he'd be heard anyway, Bruce had the damn music turned up again.

_Oh, this music is so bad, _Dan thought, _don't these people have Eminem here?_

The 14-year old wouldn't have to suffer for long, though, as the outline of a bat appeared on Bruce's screen and began filling and unfilling with yellow/orange light accompanied by a beeping noise.

"The Bat Wave?" Bruce questioned. He looked at the screen as the information passed in front of him, his face became one of determination. He had a job to do. He was about to get suited up when he thought on the boy he had locked away in the Batcave. _The kid's going to need some experience at some point, I don't really like putting a child in danger but it'll only be so long before he has to come along. _He sighed, what harm could it do? This seemed like pretty basic stuff, good practice for a beginner.

"Hey, Alfred," he spoke into the intercom. "Bring down Dan's costume so he can get suited up, I'm taking him out with me this time."

"Of course, sir," Alfred replied from upstairs. There was a slight amount of disapproval in his voice, for he agreed that bringing a boy into this was a bad move. But he could also see that Dan could hold his own with those powers of his.

"Dan, did you hear that?" Bruce called back to where he knew Dan could hear him.

"Yep," Dan replied. "What are we dealing with?"

"An armoured car carrying a lot of money was attacked on the road," Bruce told him, getting into his Bat Suit at the same time. "Seems like a basic robbery, should give you some good practice."

"Cool," Dan said. While on the outside he would seem excited, inside he was terrified. This was it, he knew this was it, this was the day when Bane breaks a large number of Batman's bones and nearly kills him in the process. Dan could only hope that he wouldn't sustain that amount of bodily harm.

Before long Alfred had come down and given Dan his costume. It was a black hooded robe that appeared to be in the style of Altair from Assassin's Creed, beneath the hood was a white Robin-style mask in order to hide his identity should the hood come away from his head at any point.

This entire thing had taken less than ten minutes, hurried working was something Dan had been taught immediately, and in no time at all they were in the Batmobile driving to the scene of the crime.

"Any idea how many people are involved?" Dan asked. Of course he knew there would only be one, but he didn't think Batman needed to know that. He's seen enough time-travel movies to know that knowing your future wasn't a good thing.

"It wasn't specified," Batman replied in his business voice. "Just remember to stick to the shadows and surprise your enemies."

"Knock them out before they can do worse to me," Dan nodded, "I think I can manage that."

"Good." Batman nodded once then stopped talking.

~Dan in the DC Universe~

Detective Ellen Yin was in her shared office with Detective Ethan Bennett, looking through a crime report that had just come in.

"Bennett," she called her partner. "We have an armoured car assault... by an unknown masked assailant."

"Masked?" Ethan asked in confusion. From what they could tell, The Batman was only interested in stopping criminals, this didn't fit at all.

"Maybe The Batman decided that being a vigilante didn't pay," Yin said, with a noticeable smirk. She didn't agree with vigilantism, in her mind only the police did that kind of work well, so it would be pleasing to her if her target started making himself and even _bigger _target.

The two of them left the office and went to their car, not knowing that by the time they got there everything that was happening will have happened.

~Dan in the DC Universe~

The Batmobile came to a halt feets away from the armoured car. The thing was a wreck, there was a massive hole in the back and the car itself was smoking. The Batmobile's roof opened and the seatbelts came undone, allowing the two occupants to exit.

"Wow," Dan commented, quietly and in the most serious voice he could muster. "They really trashed this thing."

Batman, being well... Batman, didn't acknowledge the comment had been made, simply preferring to walk towards the hole in the vehicle. Dan followed closely behind.

"The money's still here?" Batman asked rhetorically. Dan looked and the money was indeed still there, along with the two tied up occupants of the armoured car. He looked at Dan after a moment of thinking, "We've been baited."

"No," a mexican voice said, "_you _have been baited." They both looked behind them to see Bane looking at them both. "The Batman, I presume," he stated more than asked. "And a... child? I hadn't been told to expect another."

"The mask look must really be catching on," Batman commented, eyeing the man cautiously.

"Yeah, and a skin-tight rubber outfit?" Dan pitched in. "Using your costume to show off your abs is probably as egotistical as you can get."

"Defeat me and I will allow you to remove the mask," Bane addressed Batman.

"I hate to disappoint," Batman denied. "But I don't fight for sport."

"Then fight for your life!" Bane yelled as he jumped at Batman, attempting to get a punch in. Batman simply moved out of the way as Bane landed. Bane threw a flurry of punches, all of which Batman dodged, before throwing an final one which Batman caught hold of and then attempted to punch back, only to be dodged by Bane. This carried on for a few more moments before Batman caught hold of Bane's arm and threw him into the armoured car, denting it in the process.

"Talk to me," Batman said. "You can start with name and motive."

"I am Bane," the other masked man grunted as he stood up. "The last opponent you will ever face." He raised his right hand so that the back of it was facing the two companions, he then twisted the yellow circle and began writhing in what could be mistaken as pain. Instead, the yellow liquied inside the circle spread through the pipes that covered his suit, he began to grow in muscle mass and height, separating parts of his costume and revealing crimson skin beneath. Bane let out a yell as he revealed his face, ugly yellow eyes staring at his opponent, the child was not a concern.

Batman stared on in shock as Bane threw his colossal fist down onto him. He backflipped away from it, Dan was nearby shaking in fear at what was happening before him. Bane ran after Batman, throwing many more punches as Batman tried his best to avoid the beast that this man had become. One punch missed and instead Bane hit a lamp post, which he proceeded to throw a long distance away from them.

"Lights out, Batman," he growled in a new, monstrous voice. He attempted to grab onto Batman, who then used his grappling hook to escape. Dan was hidden out of sight in an alley, behind a dumpster. "Go on! Flee!" Bane's taunting was louder than any shouting Dan had heard before.

Batman, however, was grappling down from the other side of the causeway. Bane realised this too late and looked behind him only to receive a kick to the face from the Dark Knight. Batman threw more punches at Bane, none of which did anything other than frustrate him, and was forced to jump away as Bane attempted to throw both of his fists down up on him. Batman was panting for breath and threw two Batarangs at Bane, only for them to bounce harmlessly off of one of his huge arms. Batman jumped up and threw some small explosives, meant for distraction not injury, at Bane who simply smiled as let of tiny sparks against him. Then Batman threw some larger ones that _were _meant to cause injury, shrouding Bane in a fog of smoke. Dan came out of his hiding place as Batman approached the smoke.

"Y'know," he said, "if this is basic stuff, I don't wanna see an emergency."

Batman simply watched the smoke, looking for any indication that Bane was still conscious. The hulking form of Bane leapt from the smoke and his massive arm pinned Batman to the ground. He then picked up his prisoner and smashed him into a brick wall. Dan was uselessly firing air blasts at Bane, trying to prevent this from happening but it did no good. Bane once again smashed Batman into the floor, Bats letting out pained grunts and groans with every impact. The sound of his bones cracking could almost be heard as Bane finally flung him away into a wall, the bricks breaking away and landing atop him.

Dan was still blasting air at Bane in a panic. Bane noticed this and laughed mockingly. "You think you can do better?" he asked the boy. Instead of waiting for an answer he swung his huge fist at Dan, sending him down to the ground with a concussion instantly.

Bane turned towards the armoured car where its two occupants had been watching the scene in horror. "Take the money! Take it!" came the voice of the horrified guard.

Bane approached the car and lifted it up so that he was looking through the hole. "Pocket change," he spat at the two inside before throwing the truck and all of its contents down the street.

He then stalked off into the night, leaving the two injured heroes behind.

**Sometime later...**

Batman groaned as he regained consciousness. His vision was blurred, everything looked like it had been double-exposed. He blinked his dreary eyes a few times to clear them of the blurriness. He saw the Batmobile the moment his eyes were cleared, and tried to stand up and walk over to it. He couldn't. He simply fell down again upon attempting to regain his footing. He could see Dan not far away, his hood had fallen down and there was blood leaking down from his hairline, staining the new white mask.

He pressed a button on his utility belt. "Alfred..." he grunted out. "Need... pickup..." He looked up when he saw the headlights of a car approaching. The two detectives pulled up behind the Batmobile as Batman used his grappling hook to stay out of sight, barely managing to hold himself up. Dan had landed in an alleyway, he could only hope they would not find the concussed teen.

"He's still here," Detective Yin said upon spotting the Batmobile from the car. She and Bennett exited their vehicle and approached the Batmobile.

"Check it out," Bennett said in admiration. They then noticed the wrecked armoured car. They both drew their guns and made their way towards the demolished vehicle. What they saw when they looked through the hole was a mess. The money bags had been split open, causing the money to scatter around the area, and the guard and driver were tied up in the middle. The guard was sat upright but the driver was hunched over in a limp position, his neck hanging at an angle. Yin checked, his neck had been broken when Bane threw the car. The guard, however, still lived.

Bennett removed the gag from the guard.

"What happened?" Yin pretty much demanded.

"Big guy," the guard told her in a shaky voice. "Wears a mask."

"The Batman?" she asked.

The guard shook his head. "Bigger. Threw the Batman through that wall." He gestured to the broken wall with a nod of his head. "And I never saw what he did to the other guy."

"Other guy?" Bennett asked, curiously.

"Showed up with the Batman," the guard explained. "Only looked like a kid."

The two detectives looked at each other before deciding to focus on the broken wall. "We'll have a sketch artist take your description of this other individual later," Yin told the guard. The detectives then walked out towards the great, gaping hole and the pile of broken bricks.

"Okay," Bennett breathed, "_if _a dude were buff enough to throw Bats through bricks..."

"There's no way the Batman could've walked away from it," Yin finished for him.

"So where'd he go?"

Batman was trying his best not to grunt or groan in any way while hanging above them. He was sweating profusely at the effort it took for him to hold on. A drop of this sweat fell from his face and dropped towards Detective Yin. He was lucky enough that she moved before the drop hit her, but she still heard said drop hit the ground as she spun around and looked up... only to see nothing.

"Dispatch," Bennett said into the radio. "Posting an all-points bulletin on masked suspect in the vicinity of Rogers and Englehart. Be advised, perp is extremely dangerous." Yin snatched the radio from him.

"And send units to all area hospitals," she ordered. "We're looking for any new admissions with multiple fractures." She turned the radio off and put it back into the car. "If we find the patient, we find our Batman. And hopefully find out more about his new accomplice. C'mon, let's secure the scene."

Just around the corner, in the alleyway where Dan lay, Alfred was carrying Batman down from the roof and into his car, where he now had Dan laying as well. He drove out of the alley and saw the detectives examining the Batmobile, he began to panic slightly at what they might discover inside.

"Oh, dear," he said gravely.

The problem was then solved by Batman when he pressed another button on his utility belt, one that had the Batmobile automatically return to the Batcave. The detectives looked on in frustration and confusion as the empty car sped away from them, neither noticing Alfreds car leaving the scene behind them.

Batman was groaning at the pain he was in, Alfred looked at him through the rearview mirror, he had placed Dan in the seat next to him, and felt the need to reassure him. "We're nearly to the hospital sir, shan't be a moment."

"Merely... a flesh wound..." Batman grunted out, he needed to avoid the hospital at _all _cost.

"Oh, no," Alfred protested. "I may have been a field medic in the military, but I'm hardly capable of dealing with..."

"Alfred," Batman pushed on.

"You have broken bones! You may be bleeding internally! And Dan here very probably has a concussion! You are _both _in very serious need of medical attention Master Bruce."

"No... hospitals..."

"I'm afraid it is out of your hands, sir." His car pulled to a stop across the road from the hospital as the traffic lights turned red. "You see, we're already..." He stopped when the truck in front of them moved and gave him full view of the police cars parked outside of the hospital. The lights turned green and Alfred hesitantly drove for home instead, sighing at the wounds he'd have to deal with himself.

~Dan in the DC Universe~

"What's this I hear about the cops calling the hospitals looking for the Batman?" one of the three crime bosses who hired Bane asked.

"I thought this guy was supposed to solve our problems," a second complained.

"If I did not break all the Batman's bones," Bane cut in. "I guarantee you, I broke his spirit. And that of his little friend."

"Yeah, what's with that?" the third asked. "Batman's never fought with no one before."

"As if we didn't have enough problems," the first sighed.

~Dan in the DC Universe~

Alfred had tended to them as best he could. Oh, lord knows he wished there was more he could have done. He knew how to treat injuries thanks to his military career, and the Batcave was equipped with appropriate medical facilities, but he still felt that he hadn't done enough.

Dan was an easy fix when it came down to it. Concussions didn't normally require as much treatment as other injuries, he simply did the things a doctor would do and waited for Dan to regain consciousness. Once he'd awoken, Dan was well aware that he shouldn't sleep for at least twelve hours, or else his concussion might kill him. So he remained awake. He'd seen Bruce's face when he awoke, and Bruce was conscious enough to know that he had, but that was a matter that could be dealt with later. They were both wounded and in need of attention, secrets could wait.

Bruce himself, was more complicated. He had a large amount of broken bones and a lot more internal bleeding than Alfred had expected. Alfred was preparing to perform an operation on Bruce to solve his internal bleeding. Bruce was breathing in sedatives through a facemask that Alfred had put on him to make sure he was not awake for the operation.

"Being called to pick you up has never been a good omen, Master Bruce," the butler said solemnly. He knew that Bruce's activities were dangerous, but he'd never expected THIS. Bruce faded into a deep sleep and Alfred began.

Bruce dreamt. It was not a happy dream. In the dream he was sat in the police station, a blue police cap upon his head, as many officers walked past. He was a child, no older than eight or nine, crying his eyes out silently in the middle of all these people. He had his mother's pearls in his hands, he was playing with them in an attempt to forget what he had witnessed that night.

A police officer with brown hair and a bushy moustache approached him and knelt down in front of him. "Someone's here for you, son," the officer said.

Bruce turned his head to see a much younger Alfred Pennyworth, his head having hair now, with an expression on his face that portrayed much sadness.

"Oh, Master Bruce," he said, kneeling before the child as the officer had done. "I am so very sorry. I can never replace them." He hugged Bruce to him, Bruce hugged back. "I promise you, I will never, _ever _leave your side."

In the real world, Alfred managed the operation despite his lack of experience. Bruce was going to live.

~Dan in the DC Universe~

Detective Yin sighed. She was at another crime scene with Detective Bennett. A robbery, committed by the second new villain in town, Bane. She lifted up a broken piece of gold and looked at it, irritated.

"Bane takes whatever he wants," she said. The fact that anyone this bad could have this much power both irritated and _scared _her. She'd been brought in to track down a vigilante, not deal with THIS.

"And never cleans up after himself," Bennett added in, trying to be humorous about the situation. A news van sped right up to them and skidded to a stop. A reporter jumped out, immediately followed by a cameraman. The quickness of the paparazzi urked Bennett. "Here we go," he said in distaste.

"Detectives, have there been any breakthroughs?" the reporter asked, holding out his microphone.

"Rest assured, we're doing everything we can," Yin replied, not answering his question, but not quite lying either.

"Then what about The Batman?" the reporter asked. "It's rumoured that he hasn't been seen _or _heard from since this Bane came on the scene."

"We're operating under the assumption, that the Batman, is no more." Yin walked away quickly, wanting to avoid answering any more questions. Bennett followed closely behind.

"There you have it..." The reporter turned to face the camera...

~Dan in the DC Universe~

"...Gotham PD seems no closer to stopping this tremendous threat." Bruce and Dan were watching the report on Bruce's laptop. Dan was allowed in the house now, since he knew Bruce's secret identity (he felt no need to tell them he'd known the entire time). Bruce still had bandages covering most of his body. "It's been three weeks since this crime spree began, and the juggernaut known as Bane remains at large."

"The police can't handle Bane," Bruce said, wanting to put an end to the gigantic criminal's crime spree himself.

"Neither, apparently, could The Batman," Alfred shot his idea down. "Or even a boy who has complete control over the air around him."

Bruce glared at Alfred for a moment, knowing he was right, but not wanting to admit it. Dan simply blushed in embarrassment and shame that he couldn't do anything.

"Do try and rest, sir," Alfred told Bruce as he was gathering up an empty food tray. "I've spread word that you'll be on holiday for some time, so no one should come bothering." Alfred began to walk away.

"Alfred," Bruce called out. "Gotham needs The Batman."

"Sir, I don't want to speak out of turn," Alfred replied. "But if Gotham believes The Batman is gone, then maybe it is for the best. Perhaps Bruce Wayne can heal, and finally get on with his life." He left Bruce to think on what he'd said.

"You'll bounce back," Dan said once Alfred was out of earshot. "I haven't known you for all that long, but you don't seem the type to just sit back and let things happen. You may not be able to do it now, but once you've healed up enough, I'm sure you'll come up with something."

Bruce looked at the boy thoughtfully for a moment. He looked down at his bandaged left hand, and began to flex his fingers. He could do that, but he knew Dan was right, he couldn't beat Bane right now.

Well, not without a little help, at least. It was time to test out his newest project.

He struggled at standing up, only for Dan to come over and try to help support him. The boy simply smiled when Bruce gave him a 'what's this for?' look.

"There's nothing I can say that'll stop you trying," Dan said. "So let me give you a hand."

Bruce smiled at the boy in appreciation. He didn't really like taking a kid out with him, he WOULDN'T be for this trip, but it was nice to have someone other than Alfred, who constantly argued with his new profession, to spend time with.

"Thanks," he said. They made their way down to the Batcave and worked on the soon-to-be-completed Bat Bot.

They'd been at work for about an hour when Alfred came down with a most irritated expression on his face.

"And you two are doing what, exactly?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"What you suggested, Alfred," Bruce told him simply. "Getting on with my life."

"And I'm helping because it's pointless arguing with this guy," Dan said, although he was smiling as he said it.

"Interesting interpretation," Alfred said, anger slipping into his voice. "But know that if you intend to face this 'Bane' again, sir, you may need to find yourself another butler-slash-physician-slash-getaway driver."

Bruce looked behind him at his old friend with a sort of sad acceptance of the situation. "I understand, Alfred," he said. Bruce went back to work as Alfred turned to leave. He found himself struggling with the wrench as he tried to tighten a bolt, shaking and eventually losing his grip, gripping his injured arm in pain. Dan was about to get up and help him but he picked the wrench back up on his own, and put it back in its previous position on the bolt. Just as he was about to start again he saw another hand grab onto the wrench with his, he turned his head and saw that it was Alfred.

"Oh, very well then," the butler sighed. "Let's get to work, shall we?"

Bruce smiled at his butler, and they worked together at getting everything ready for the upcoming rematch between Bane and The Batman.

~Dan in the DC Universe~

Bruce was in the newly completed Bat Bot. It was a huge machine, although a little smaller than Bane, which was only made up of black and very, very dark grey. He was going up in the elevator of one of Gotham's banks where Bane had broken in. He was nervous, how could he not be? But he was also confident that the Bat Bot could fight off Bane.

Dan wasn't there, it was too dangerous for him, the boy had seemed relieved and disappointed at the same time when he heard that.

The elevator doors opened on the top floor and the new and improved Batman walked out. In front of him Bane had been closing in on Detective Yin, presumably to kill her, but was now looking at Batman with much anger present in his yellow eyes.

"You did survive," Bane growled.

Bruce remained silent, determined to keep his head in the fight that was about to start.

"Master Bruce," Alfred's voice came over the communicator. "How are things in the Bat Bot?"

"According to Bat Wave, all systems go," Bruce confirmed, staring at Bane through the eyes of his new machine.

"Kick his ass, Bruce," Dan's voice also came through the communicator. Bruce couldn't hear it, but Alfred then scolded Dan for using such language.

Bane began to charge at the Bat Bot, so Bruce made the Bat Bot charge at him too. When the two were close enough together Bane threw a punch at the machine, a punch that it caught even though it was knocked back a bit. The Bat Bot used Bane's arm as a way of catapulting him across the room, taking a large chunk out of the wall beside the elevator, as well as knocking the elevator down to the bottom floor where it nearly crushed the just-arriving Detective Bennett. Bane shrugged it off and was charging again in no time. The two behemoths continued to dodge and punch each other, Bane being sent to the ground and the Bat Bot attempting to jump on top of him, only for Bane to grab its face and hurl it at the wall.

Something must have been damaged, because Bruce felt a large jolt of electricity go through him on the inside.

Before he could react to anything, Bane had charged again, this time sending both of them out of the window. The Bat Bot's jetpack function made sure they landed on a smaller, nearby building rather than in the street where people could get hurt. Bane was flung out of the resulting dust cloud by the Bat Bot, he charged back towards it and managed to knock its right arm off, causing Bruce to no longer be able to use it. Then he began to pummel the Bat Bot, over and over, until he'd knocked it over. He leapt away from it, grabbed a huge metal bar, and leapt back towards it, the Bat Bot jumping away each time he tried to strike. He finally managed to get a hit on the front of the Bat Bot, opening up its chest so that the light from outside shone onto Bruce's.

Bane hit again, embedding the bar in the left shoulder of the Bat Bot. He began to drag it down until it was in danger of hitting Bruce's still-injured arm on the inside of the machine, when Bruce used the Bat Bot to knock the bar clear from Bane's hands. He then shoulder-barged the huge red monster to the ground. The Bat Bot leaned over Bane's prone body, making sure he was defeated when Bane delivered a large punch to it that sent it to the ground immediately, causing Bruce more pain.

"You cannot beat Bane!" Bane yelled at him as he smashed the Bat Bot's head into the ground. He kicked the Bat Bot onto its back and stomped its arm to the ground as Bruce attempted to move it. Bane let out a cruel laugh before plunging his fist into the chest of the Bat Bot, and ripped a piece of the chest off.

"I left you with some dignity last time," he said. "But now I will unmask you." He grabbed onto the head of the Bat Bot and began to squeeze, wanting to cause as much pain as possible before ripping it off. "Then I'll break the rest of your bones."

A flashing 'alert' signal was glowing and cracking on the inside of the mask. Bruce cringed as the metal shell around him began to close in under the weight of Bane's hand. Bruce began to reach for an electrical wire that was loose from the Bat Bot in a desperate attempt to come up with something. He got it, and using the last of his strength managed to jam the electrified end directly into the yellow circle on Bane's hand, sending electricity all throughout his body.

Bane screamed in agony as the electricity tore through him. His back arched as it began to reverse the process that had made him as large as he was. It was not long before Bane passed out and fully returned to his human form of a man in a rubber black suit.

Bruce sighed inside the Bat Bot as it finally gave out and wouldn't work anymore. He was glad that was over.

"Alfred," he said. "Need pickup."

"Oh, right away, sir," Alfred sighed on the other end, but there was a hint of relief to it this time.

"Is Goliath down?" Dan asked over the radio.

"He looks more like David right now," Bruce said. "So yeah, you could say that."

~Dan in the DC Universe~

"Bane was found unconscious at the scene, amidst signs of a struggle," the reporter on TV said. "But who Bane struggled with, remains a mystery. Back to you, Jim."

"So," Yin said from her hospital bed. "The Batman returns." There was more than a hint of distaste in her voice.

"Hard to tell," Bennett said. He was sat beside her bed with his hands behind his head. "There was something... different about him."

"You know, that doesn't change things," Yin told him.

Bennett sighed. "I know." It was a really sad thing for him. In only a couple of years The Batman had done more for Gotham than the police ever had. It just seemed like they'd be better off working with him rather than against him.

One thing that would plague both of their minds for a while: who was the guy who'd been seen with Bats at the robbery?

* * *

><p><strong>DONE! Yes, finally! Sorry for the wait, I had hoped to get this out earlier. But yeah, what do you think? I know it might seem like too soon for Bruce to have his secret identity (he thinks) revealed, but let's face it, there's no way Alfred would leave Dan to suffer from a concussion just for the sake of Bruce's secret. I think it occured to all of them that he would find out eventually.<strong>

**I was going to release this yesterday, but for some reason I was blocked out of accessing anything. Did that happen to anyone else?**

**Next Chapter: Short, Fat and Ugly. Must be the Penguin**


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